Parallel Coordinates Plot in R

How to create parallel coordinates plots in R with Plotly.

New to Plotly?

Plotly's R library is free and open source!
Get started by downloading the client and reading the primer.
You can set up Plotly to work in online or offline mode.
We also have a quick-reference cheatsheet (new!) to help you get started!

Version Check

Version 4 of Plotly's R package is now available!
Check out this post for more information on breaking changes and new features available in this version.

library(plotly)
packageVersion('plotly')

## [1] '4.5.6.9000'

Adding Dimensions

library(plotly)

p <- plot_ly(type = 'parcoords', line = list(color = 'blue'),
             dimensions = list(
               list(range = c(1,5),
                    constraintrange = c(1,2),
                    label = 'A', values = c(1,4)),
               list(range = c(1,5),
                    tickvals = c(1.5,3,4.5),
                    label = 'B', values = c(3,1.5)),
               list(range = c(1,5),
                    tickvals = c(1,2,4,5),
                    label = 'C', values = c(2,4),
                    ticktext = c('text 1', 'text 2', 'text 3', 'text 4')),
               list(range = c(1,5),
                    label = 'D', values = c(4,2))
               )
             )

# Create a shareable link to your chart
# Set up API credentials: https://plot.ly/r/getting-started
chart_link = api_create(p, filename="parcoords-dimensions")
chart_link

Parallel coordinates are richly interactive by default. Drag the lines along the axes to filter regions and drag the axis names across the plot to rearrange variables:

Basic Parallel Cordinates Plot

library(plotly)

df <- read.csv("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bcdunbar/datasets/master/iris.csv")

p <- df %>%
  plot_ly(type = 'parcoords',
          line = list(color = ~species_id,
                      colorscale = list(c(0,'red'),c(0.5,'green'),c(1,'blue'))),
          dimensions = list(
            list(range = c(2,4.5),
                 label = 'Sepal Width', values = ~sepal_width),
            list(range = c(4,8),
                 constraintrange = c(5,6),
                 label = 'Sepal Length', values = ~sepal_length),
            list(range = c(0,2.5),
                 label = 'Petal Width', values = ~petal_width),
            list(range = c(1,7),
                 label = 'Petal Length', values = ~petal_length)
            )
          )

# Create a shareable link to your chart
# Set up API credentials: https://plot.ly/r/getting-started
chart_link = api_create(p, filename="parcoords-basic")
chart_link

Advanced Parallel Coordinates Plot

library(plotly)

df <- read.csv("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bcdunbar/datasets/master/parcoords_data.csv")

p <- df %>%
  plot_ly(width = 1000, height = 600) %>%
  add_trace(type = 'parcoords',
          line = list(color = ~colorVal,
                      colorscale = 'Jet',
                      showscale = TRUE,
                      reversescale = TRUE,
                      cmin = -4000,
                      cmax = -100),
          dimensions = list(
            list(range = c(~min(blockHeight),~max(blockHeight)),
                 constraintrange = c(100000,150000),
                 label = 'Block Height', values = ~blockHeight),
            list(range = c(~min(blockWidth),~max(blockWidth)),
                 label = 'Block Width', values = ~blockWidth),
            list(tickvals = c(0,0.5,1,2,3),
                 ticktext = c('A','AB','B','Y','Z'),
                 label = 'Cyclinder Material', values = ~cycMaterial),
            list(range = c(-1,4),
                 tickvals = c(0,1,2,3),
                 label = 'Block Material', values = ~blockMaterial),
            list(range = c(~min(totalWeight),~max(totalWeight)),
                 visible = TRUE,
                 label = 'Total Weight', values = ~totalWeight),
            list(range = c(~min(assemblyPW),~max(assemblyPW)),
                 label = 'Assembly Penalty Weight', values = ~assemblyPW),
            list(range = c(~min(HstW),~max(HstW)),
                 label = 'Height st Width', values = ~HstW),
            list(range = c(~min(minHW),~max(minHW)),
                 label = 'Min Height Width', values = ~minHW),
            list(range = c(~min(minWD),~max(minWD)),
                 label = 'Min Width Diameter', values = ~minWD),
            list(range = c(~min(rfBlock),~max(rfBlock)),
                 label = 'RF Block', values = ~rfBlock)
            )
          )


# Create a shareable link to your chart
# Set up API credentials: https://plot.ly/r/getting-started
chart_link = api_create(p, filename="parcoords-advanced")
chart_link

Reference

See https://plot.ly/r/reference/#parcoords for more information and options!